And if that is what one wishes to do, then I submit he had rather 8 elephants: 2 African, 2 Asian, 2 Mammoth, and 2 Mastadon.
[minor quibble:] Mastadons went extinct way before the flood date of 4500 years ago.
Mammoths, maybe, but not likely since they too went extinct before the flood, but, closer to the date of 4500 years ago, depending on which source is used.
I suppose that would be reasonable if one insists on applying conventions of modern science to the poetry of ancient legends.
But the word "genus" and "species" which you describe here:
doctorbill writes:
In fact, at Genesis 1:12, where the word "kind" appears twice, the Latin Bible gives it as "genus" in the first instance, and "species" in the second.
...Are in fact representing conventional scientifc terms. You used it in the same form trying to reach a different outcome.
"I smoke pot. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."--Bill Hicks
"I never knew there was another option other than to question everything"--Noam Chomsky